Johan Sverdrup construction can improve, safety body says

The Norwegian safety body, the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA), has found one improvement point during an audit of bridges and flare booms fabrication for the Johan Sverdrup project.

The safety watchdog said on Friday that the identified improvement point was in relation to the continuous improvement of execution of fabrication.

According to the PSA, the audit, conducted on September 7 and 8, revealed no non-conformities.

The audit of the fabrication of bridges and flare booms and Statoil’s follow-up on the Johan Sverdrup project was performed at the premises of Rosenberg WorleyParsons AS. Also, spot checks of the production of procedures and documentation for pipe systems and structures were done by the watchdog.

The PSA added that the objective of the audit was to monitor if the project was planned and carried out in compliance with applicable regulations and recognized norms and that requirements in the HSE regulations are provided for. The PSA also made a follow up of Statoil’s follow-up of the fabrications.

The PSA said that Statoil was given a deadline of November 2017 to report on how the improvement point will be addressed.

In September, Norwegian oil company Statoil said it completed nearly 60 percent of the Phase 1 of the Johan Sverdrup project in the North Sea while further reducing the gross capital expenditure by NOK 5 billion to NOK 92 billion ($11.8B).

Johan Sverdrup

Johan Sverdrup is one of the five largest oil fields on the Norwegian continental shelf. The field is being developed in several phases. The total resources at the field are estimated to between 2.0 and 3.0 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

The Phase 1 consists of four platforms which make up the planned field center for Johan Sverdrup. Phase 1 is expected to start up in late 2019 with production capacity estimated at 440,000 barrels of oil per day.

Phase 2 is expected to start up in 2022, with full field production estimated at 660,000 barrels of oil per day. Peak production on Johan Sverdrup will be equivalent to 25% of all Norwegian petroleum production. Concept decision for Phase 2 was made earlier this year and the selected concept consists of another process platform (P2), modifications to the riser platform and subsea wells.